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Politics : The Left Wing Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mighty_Mezz who wrote (2055)	12/25/2000 9:45:38 PM
From: Mighty_Mezz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6089

Washington, DC — During the last days of the 104th (1996) Congress, the most committed right wing fundamentalist senator, John Ashcroft of Missouri, in a sneaky maneuver unworthy of any genuinely religious person, attached without notice an amendment to the welfare act which was intended to gut the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. President Clinton signed it into law. Ashcroft's amendment, known as "a charitable choice" provision, permits government social services to be administered inside a church or house of worship; grants a right to religious contractors to display any kind of religious symbols where government funded services are provided, and allows religious contractors to discriminate in hiring employees, who are paid with taxpayer funds. It also grants all religious organizations a statutory right to be eligible to contract with a state to administer social services. This right can be enforced with a lawsuit against the state. Furthermore, this federal legislation prevents states from requiring that religious social service providers deliver services in an environment free from proselyting symbols and expressions. These provisions will allow religious organizations to require that employees paid with taxpayer dollars adhere to the "religious tenets and teachings" of the religious institutions. The legislation also mandates that employees follow rules regarding off-the-job behavior, including consumption of alcoholic beverages. In other words, this amendment will not only exclude non-believers from government-funded employment, but will allow groups to advance religious doctrines with taxpayer money. (From: Facts for Action, edited by John Swomley) berkshire.net